Myanmar coup: Aung San Suu Kyi urges unity in rare comments

The Myanmar military generals ousted the country’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other elected officials as they took power in February last year. In the midst of the ongoing coup by the junta, Aung San Suu Kyi has reportedly urged the people to be united.

Reuters reports that the ousted Myanmar leader called for her people to put up a united front, according to a source aware of the legal battles the Nobel laureate is facing. Aung San Suu Kyi is being charged by the junta with a number of offenses including violation of a state secrets law, accepting bribes of cash and gold, and counts of corruption, which have a maximum combined prison sentence of 150 years.

“Aung San Suu Kyi tells the people ‘be united’, to have open dialogue among each other. ‘Everyone has a different view – discuss and talk patiently’” said the source, who asked not to be named as the junta is still restricting information about the ousted Myanmar leader and her trial. While the source did not elaborate on why the ousted leader was urging unity, they said it was not a call for dialogue with the generals.

The source said that a verdict in Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial is set to be announced next week on a corruption charge on the allegations of accepting cash and gold bribes. Aung San Suu Kyi has denied any wrongdoing. The junta claimed that Aung San Suu Kyi is facing due process by an independent judiciary.

Over the weekend, the junta announced that it is granting amnesty to 1,600 prisoners who were detained, in light of the celebration of the country’s new year. The number of prisoners released over the weekend is smaller compared to the 23,000 that were granted amnesty in 2021. Members of the civilian government were not included among those who were released.

This comes as the military has arrested more than 13,000 people and killed over 1,700 who have criticized the junta since the generals seized power in a coup last year.

Lieutenant General Aung Lin Dwe issued a statement announcing the release of 1,619 prisoners, including 42 foreign nationals.